Carton handling system and apparatus



" fJan. 7, 1969 E. c.Hu'rcHlNsoN y 3,420,035

CARTON HANDLING SYSTEM AND APPARATUS Filed Maron' 18. v 196e sheet of sT /2 F162. 55 A i! Z B M4 .n M, /fa f' l .4' i! L. d

CARTON lHANDLING SYSTEM AND APPARATUS `Pima uam 1e. 196e sheet 2 of sJan. 7, 1969 E. c. HurcHlNsoN 3,420,036

A CARTON HANDLING SYSTEM AND APPARATUS Shee'fI 2 of5 Filed March 18.1966 E. c. HLn'cn-.uNsoNl 3,420,036 CARTON HANDLING SYSTEM ANDAPPARATUS;

Jan. "i, 1969v e. l am 1 l. m4 a a d e fr United States Patent Ofce3,420,036 Patented Jan. l7, 1969 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURECarton handling apparatus to advance a carton from a stack of flatblanks, erect the carton and hold the carton at a loading station untilit is loaded including a carton stacking station at one end of themachine to receive a stack of at folded cartons, a carton erectingstation at the center of the machine where the cartons are erected and acarton loading station at the other end of the machine where the cartonsare loaded, together with reciprocal carton feed means operable duringone stroke to advance a carton blank from the stacking station to theerecting station and simultaneously advance an erected carton from theerecting station to the loading station.

The present invention relates to an improved carton handling system andapparatus for converting cartons from a iiat, folded form to an openform for reception of various articles such as canned goods.

In a typical carton handling apparatus, flat, folded cartons stacked oneon top of another at a supply station are advanced by feed means one ata time to a forming station where the carton body is opened or squaredaway and the end forming aps folded inwardly to close one end of thecarton. The erected carton is then advanced to a packing station whereit is filled, for example, with canned goods, by a conventional packer.The packed carton then is discharged from the packing station to besealed and is ready for shipment.

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel carton handlingsystem and apparatus wherein the cartons are advanced through theapparatus in a straight line path and are oriented so that the flaps ofthe carton extend in the direction of movement through the apparatus tominimize friction and whereby the carton feed means engages the endforming flaps thereby to minimize the possibility of damage to thecarton body.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a carton handlingapparatus having novel features of construction and arrangementincluding a novel drive arrangement for reciprocating the carton feedmeans between limit positions whereby the feed means duringreciprocating movement in a straight lline path effects synchronizedactuation of various other mechanisms of the apparatus to erect and foldvarious iiaps of the carton to fill the cartons at the packing stationand to discharge the filled cartons from the packing station.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a cartonhandling apparatus wherein the forward and backward stroke of thereciprocating feed means is fully utilized and wherein the feed means isactuated by a novel drive arrangement operable to effect magnified anduniformly decelerated end velocities of the feed means as it approachesopposite limit positions to provide eliicient high speed advancing,forming and feeding operations.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a cartonhandling apparatus including a plurality of coordinated mechanisms tosimultaneously form cartons and fold certain flaps thereof without theneed for any secondary internal carton or iiap control lingers wherebythe carton liaps are progressively and synchronously closed while thecarton is being formed without ilap interference and which will handleand form cartons properly even when handling out-of-tolerance cartons.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a novelcarton handling apparatus which can accommodate various size cartons andwhich is of comparatively simplified, compact construction whereby itmay be manufactured. economically and which is entirely efficient andeffective in operation and use.

A stilvl further object of the present invention is to provide a novelcarton handling apparatus which may accommodate cartons of various sizesand is adapted for use with various commercially available cartonpacking devices.

These and other objects of a carton handling system and apparatus inaccordance with the present invention and the various features anddetails of the operation and construction thereof are hereinafter morefully set forth and described with references to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are side elevational and plan views, respectively, of acarton handling apparatus constructed in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the carton handling apparatus of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on lines 4 4 of FIG. l;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the carton formingstation of the apparatus;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view of one of the end closing flap mechanisms;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along line 7-7 ofFIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary plan View showing the carton feedassembly in the forwardmost limit position;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are enlarged fragmentary views partly in section showingthe carton feed assembly in various positions;

FIGS. 11-14, inclusive, are schematic views illustrating stepwisemovement of a carton through the apparatus of the present invention; and

FIG. l5 is a schematic view of the electrical and pneumatic circuit forvarious elements of the apparatus.

The apparatus of the present invention is adapted for handlingconventional cartons C of the type comprising a body portion Bconsisting of side and end forming panels S and E, respectively,hingedly connected along fold or score lines and a plurality of closureaps F which project from and are coextensive with opposite side edges ofeach of the side and end forming panels and which are adapted to befolded inwardly along fold lines to close the top and bottom of thecarton.

Considering now broadly the carton handling apparatus of the presentinvention in terms of function and with respect to the schematic viewsof FIGS. 11-14, inclusive, illustrating sequentially the steps information of a carton, folded or knocked down cartons Cf, stacked one ontop of another at a supply station X are advanced by feed means P one ata time to a forming station Y where the carton C is opened or squaredaway so that the side and end forming panels S and E are at right anglesto each other. (See FIGS. 11 and 12.) At the forming station Y, theclosure flaps F at one end of the carton are folded in to form thebottom of the carton. The partially erected carton is then advanced to apacking station Z Where canned goods or the like are deposited into theopen end of the carton by a conventional packer H (see FIGS. 13 and 14).The filled carton C then is discharged from the packing station Z tomake room for another carton for filling. As illustrated, the cartonsare advanced through the apparatus along a straight line path and thefeed means for advancing the cartons engage the end forming liaps F topreclude damage to the carton body.

Considering now the details and arrangement of the carton handlingapparatus, the apparatus comprises a main frame structure including legsupport members 11 which support an elongated generally rectangularplaten 12 providing a support surface for the carton C during movementthrough the apparatus. The carton supply station X is located at one endof the apparatus and is defined, in the present instance, by a rack 14formed by upstanding angle members 16 projecting upwardly from theplaten 12 and arranged at four corners of a rectangle. The free upperends of the angle members 16 are liared outwardly to facilitateinsertion of folded carton Cf in the rectangular area defined by therack 14 while the front leg of the two forward members 16 are cut awayto permit forward passage of the lowermost carton in the stack. Anadjustable crosspiece 1S extends between the forwardmost angle members16 transversely of the platen 12 and is spaced from the top surfacethereof to provide a slotted opening of sutiicient height to permit asingle folded carton C to be discharged therethrough. The crosspiece 18is selectively adjustable so that the size of the slotted opening 20 maybe varied to accommodate cartons of various thicknesses. A spring guide22 at one side of the rack 14 urges the cartons at the lower portion ofthe stack into a predetermined position on the platen 12 as they movetoward the bottom of the rack 14.

Feed means generally designated P advance a fiat carton Cf from thesupply station X to the forming station Y where the fiat carton Cf isadapted to be partially erected. To this end when a fiat carton Cf ispositioned at the forming station Y, a forming arm pivotally mounted toa side rail of the main frame structure 10 is pivoted inwardly by apiston-cylinder actuator 31 as shown in FIG. 4 whereby a suction cup 32mounted at the free end of the arm 30 engages an end forming panel E ofthe carton and presses a side forming panel S confronting the platen 12against a spring biased vacuum cup 34 which serves to hold the carton inplace on the platen 12. As the forming arm 30 pivots upwardly to theposition shown in broken lines in FIG. 4, the side and end formingpanels S and E of the carton C are squared away. The forming arm 30mounts a rotatable liap closing arm 36 adjacent its free end which isnormally biased by a coil spring to extend in a direction parallel tothe direction of movement of cartons through the apparatus and which,when the forming arm 30 is raised, engages a stationary post 38 mountedon an inverted U-shaped bracket 37 overlying the platen whereby the arm36 is pivoted inwardly to close one of the end forming fiaps Fe asillustrated. The opposite end forming flap Fe is also folded inwardly bymeans of a flap folding arm 40 actuated by a piston-cylinder actuator 42mounted on the inverted U-shaped bracket 37. The folding arm assembly 40is adjustably mounted on the bracket 37 for movement transversely of thepath of travel of the cartons to handle cartons of various sizes.

The partially erected carton at the forming station is advanced by thefeed means P to an inclined ramp 44 at the packing station, which ramp44 is slightly lower than the platen 12 to define a shoulder or ledge 46which maintains the lower side closing flap FS closed and preventsrearward movement of the carton during the filling operation. At thepacking station Z, another flap folding arm 48 mounted on an invertedU-shaped bracket 49 is pivoted downwardly by a piston-cylinder actuator50 to close the upper side closing flap FS thereby completely closingone end of the carton. A conventional case packer H ejects canned goodsor the like into the open end of the carton and after the carton isfilled, a piston-cylinder ejector 53 moves the filled carton away fromthe packing station Z onto a conventional apron conveyor 57 to make roomfor another carton to be filled. A guide rail 55 may be providedadjacent one side of the conveyor 57 to maintain the side and end flapsclosed as the filled carton moves along the conveyor. The apron conveyorwill carry the carton to conventional glueing or stapling mechanismwhere the filled carton will be Sealed.

In accordance with the present invention, the feed means P for advancingthe cartons through the apparatus is characterized by novel features ofconstruction and arrangement to provide a reliable, compact, efficientand high speed carton handling operation. The feed means includes aslide bed 60 mounted below the platen 12 and adapted for reciprocatingmovement longitudinally of the apparatus and to this end carries guiderollers 61 along its opposite side edges which engage in confrontinglongitudinally extending U-shaped channels 63 mounted on opposite sidesof the main frame structure 10. The slide bed 60 mounts adjacent itsrear end a pair of spring biased feed fingers 62 which extend throughtransversely spaced, elongated openings 65 in the platen 12 and mountsat its forward end an advance arm assembly 64.

The slide bed 60 is adapted for reciprocating movement lengthwise of theapparatus between a rearward limit position (see FIG. 13) and a forwardlimit position (see FIG. 14). During the advance stroke or actuationfrom the rearward limit position to the forward limit position thefingers 62 strip a folded carton Cf from the stack and position it atthe forming station Y and simultaneously the advance arm assembly 64moves an erected carton from the forming station Y to the packingstation Z. It is noted that on the retract stroke the advance armassembly 64 is lowered below the platen 12 to clear a carton at thesupply station Y and the spring biased fingers 62 are urged downwardlywhen they engage the stack of cartons at the supply station to clear thesame.

In accordance with the present invention drive means is provided forcycling the slide bed 60 between limit positions in a manner to provideuniformly decelerated end velocities as the slide bed 60 approachesopposite limit positions. By this arrangement, the slide bed 60gradually is brought up to speed as a folded carton is moved out of thestack by the feed fingers 62 precluding abrupt engagement of the cartonand possible damage thereto, and at the end of the advance stroke theslide bed is gradually slowed down to preclude pushing the erectedcarton beyond the packing station. To this end, the slide bed feed meansincludes a prime mover such as a motor M which drives through suitabletransmission means the drive member 70 of a clutch 72 assembly. Theclutch assembly includes a driven member 74 connected to the slide bed60 by a linkage mechanism L. The driven member 74 of the clutch 72 isnormally engaged by a pawl 84 to prevent rotation of the driven member74 and actuation of the slide bed 60. The pawl 84 is controlled by asolenoid S0 which when deenergized positions the pawl 84 in the path ofa lug 82 on the clutch 72 in which position the slide bed 60 is at restat the forward limit position. Upon energization of the solenoid So, thepawl 84 disengages the lug 82 to permit one revolution of the clutch 72.One complete revolution of the clutch 72 effects through the drivenmember 74 and linkage mechanism L actuation of the slide bed 60 throughone complete cycle from the forward limit position to its rear limitposition and back to its forward limit position.

The linkage mechanism L comprises a drive link 76 and a follower link 78connected to a crank arm 80 pivotally mounted at its lower terminal endto the frame structure and at its upper terminal end to the sliding bed60. It is noted that by this linkage arrangement the slide bed 60'uniformly decelerates as it approaches and leaves opposite limitpositions and during lche central part of the stroke achieves amagnified velocity to provide for high speed operation. Thus, thefingers 62 do not abruptly engage the carton at the beginning of theadvance stroke thereby precluding damage to the end flaps of the cartonas they are engaged to advance cartons one at a time from the rack 14 bythe feed fingers 62. Furthermore, relatively slow movement of thefingers 62 adjacent opposite limit positions insures engagement of acarton C to move it from the supply station X and also insures properpositioning of the collapsed carton C at the forming station Y. Themagnifying linkage mechanism L provides these advantages, while stilleffecting a desired high speed movement of the slide bed 60 during theintermediate portion of the advance and retract strokes to facilitatehigh speed movement of cartons through the apparat-us.

The structural details details of the advance arm assembly 64 are shownin FIGS. 8-10, inclusive. As illustrated, the assembly includes a pusher89 having an enlarged head 90 mounted at one end of a C-shaped supportarm 92, the end of the support arm 92 opposite the head 90 beingpivotally mounted in a yokelike bracket 96 mounted on the forward end ofthe slide bed 60. The pusher 89 is maintained in a raised position shownin FIG. 9 by means or a spring biased cam member 98 pivotally mountedbetween the arms of the yoke 96. The cam 98 is adapted to engage aspring biased latch 100 pivotally mounted in the forward portion of theframe 10 when the slide bed is in its forward limit position. The latch100 rotates the cam 98 in a clockwise direction when the slide bed 60 isretracted whereby the pusher 89 is released and pivots downwardly by itsown weight to a lowered position shown in bnoken lines in FIG. 10. Atthe end of the retract stroke of the slide bed 60, the pusher 89 engagesa roller 102 fixed to the platen 12 which pivots the pusher 89 to araised position, the cam 98 engaging the pusher 89 to maintain it in theraised position (see FIG. 9 by means of a spring biased cam member 98during movement of the slide bed 60 between limit positions, enlargedopenings 104 and 106 are provided in the platen 12 which are connectedby a channel opening 108.

An important feature of the present invention is the provision of meansfor effecting a synchronized actuation of the various elements of theapparatus providing for continuous high speed handling of cartonstherethrough in the manner described above. This is best exemplified byconsidering the complete operational cycle of operation of theapparatus. The slide bed 60 is normally disposed in the forward limitposition. When it is desired to start operation, the operator closes amain control switch Sw which as shown in FIG. l effects operation ofmotors M and M1 to condition clutch 72 for operation and drive lair pumpP1 for the pneumatic piston-cylinder actuators. A manual control Sm isprovided which may be temporarily closed by the machine operator toenergize solenoid SD to release the pawl 84 whereby one revolution ofthe clutch 72 is permitted. Accordingly, upon actuation of clutch 72linkage mechanism L retracts the slide bed 60 to the rear limit positionwhereby the lingers 62 engage -a folded carton Cf in the rack 14 andadvance the folded carton Cf to the carton forming station Y as shown inFIG. ll. As the slide bed 60 reverses and moves to the forward limitposition, a finger 112 on the forward end of the slide bed 60 engagesthe plunger of a control valve 110 for the piston-cylinder actuators 31and 50 for the fiap folding arms 30 and 48, respectively. Uponengagement of the valve 110, the forming arm 30 is pivoted inwardly toengage the end forming panel E of the carton and press the side formingpanel S against the vacuum cup 34. This completes the first stage ofoperation.

The manual control switch Sm is again depressed by the operator to againenergize the solenoid S0 and recycle the slide bed 60. As the slide bed60 moves rearwardly from the forward limit position, the finger 112disengages valve 110 for the piston-cylinder actuators 31 and 50 wherebythe arm 30 is raised to its normal position as shown in FIG. 12. As thearm 30 is raised, it.

engages the plunger of a valve for the piston-cylinder actuator 42 forthe side flap folding arm 40 to pivot the same to close the upper sideflap FS as illustrated. Simultaneously, the pusher cam 98 disengages thelatch 100 whereby the pusher 89 pivots downwardly to pass under theplaten 12 during the retract stroke of the slide bed 60. When the `slidebed 60 is fully retracted as shown in FIG. 13, the pusher 89 is raised'to close the bottom side forming flap Fs of the carton at the formingstation Y as shown in FIG. 13. Now as the slide bed 60 returns, thefingers 62 engage the bottom carton Cf in the stack and advance it tothe forming station Y and simultaneously, the partially erected carton Cat the forming station Y is advanced by the pusher 89 to the packingstation Z. As noted previously, the linkage mechanism L gradually slowsthe slide bed 60 as it approaches opposite limit positions to precludedamage to the carton and to properly position the carton at the formingand packing stations. When the slide bed 60 is in the forward limitposition, the valve 110 is again actuated by the finger 112 to lower theforming arm 30 to engage a carton at the forming station Y and alsopivot the flap forming arm 48 to close the upper side flap Fs of acarton at the packing station Z yas shown in FIG. 14. The partiallyerected carton on the inclined ramp engages a switch to effect actuationof the case packer H (see FIG. l5). As the case packer H enters thecarton to deposit canned goods therein, it engages a spring biased valve132 to cycle the ejector 53 to move a filled carton C out of the casepacking station Z onto the conveyor. During operation of the ejector 53,normally open switch 136 closes, to energize the solenoid So thereby torecycle the slide bed 60. From this point on complete operation of theapparatus is automatic, the cycle terminating when the last carton hasbeen discharged from the packing station Z.

From the foregoing, it may be seen that the present invention providesan apparatus for handling cartons which is characterized by novelfeatures of construction and arrangement providing a high speedoperation in a compact apparatus which is of comparatively simplifiedconstruction. Some of the features of the apparatus and system of thepresent invention include movement of the cartons through the apparatusin a predetermined straight line path wherein the carton flaps areoriented in a direction parallel to the line of flow to minimize slidingfriction and also facilitate ejection of a single carton at a time fromthe rack 14 without the need for stack separating ldevices. Further, bythis arrangement, the carton feed means engages flaps of the cartonthereby precluding possible damage to the carton body. Further,operation of all of the various elements of the apparatus aresynchronized to provide a continuous operation thereby requiring aminimum of maintenance or supervision. The drive means effectingdecelerated end velocities of the slide bed' adjacent opposite limitpositions provides the advantages noted above in a high speed operation.

While a particular embodiment of the present invention has beenillustrated and described herein, it is not intended to limit theinvention and ch-anges and modifications may be made therein within thescope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. Carton handling apparatus for erecting car-tons having top and bottomflaps from the flat folded form and closing the bottom flaps of thecarton for the reception of a product, comprising: a carton stackingstation at one end of said apparatus to receive and support a stack ofat folded cartons with the top flaps of the cartons extending in adirection away from said one end of said apparatus, a carton loadingstation at the opposite end of said apparatus from said one end, acarton erecting station on said apparatus intermediate said stacking andloading stations, means at said carton erecting station to engage anderect cartons and close the bottom end flaps of the erected carton, ashoulder provided at said carton loading station facing in the directionof movement of the erected carton behind which said erected carton isengaged when it reaches said loading station, said shoulder operable tohold said erected carton in position during loading and maintain thebottom end flaps closed, carton feed means mounted for reciprocalmovement longitudinally of said apparatus from said one end thereof tosaid other end operable to engage a carton blank at said carton stackingstation and advance the same in the direction of the top end flapsthereof to said carton erecting station and simultaneously therewithengage an erected carton at said carton erecting station and advance thesame forwardly in the direction of the top end flaps thereof to saidcarton loading station, and drive means for said carton feed meansoperable during one complete cycle of operation to retract said cartonfeed means from said other end of said apparatus to said one end of saidapparatus and immediately thereafter advance said carton feed means fromsaid one end of said apparatus to said other end of said apparatus.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein control means isprovided including a switch member at said carton loading stationengageable by an erected carton after the carton is engaged by saidshoulder to initiate loading of said carton and initiate discharge of acarton from the loading station after the same is loaded.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 wherein second control means areprovided operable upon discharge of a loaded ycarton from said cartonloading station to actuate the drive means for said carton feed meansand cause said carton feed means to be retracted toward said one end ofsaid apparatus into engagement with a carton blank and an erected cartonand thereafter advance said carton blank and erected carton.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3 wherein said carton feed meansincludes a first member operable to engage and advance a carton blankand a second member operable to engage and advance an erected carton,and means to withdraw said rst and second members away from the path oftravel of said carton blank and erected carton during retraction of saidcarton feed means toward said one end of said apparatus.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3 wherein said drive means causessaid `carton feed means to move slowly at the beginning and end of eachforward stroke and more rapidly at the center of each forward stroke.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5 wherein means are provided atsaid carton erecting station to erect the carton and close the bottomend aps of the carton, said means at the carton erecting station beingactuatable to erect the carton and close said flaps during retraction ofsaid carton feed means towards said one end of said apparatus.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,350,841 ll/l967 McDonald53--186 TRAVIS S. MCGEHEE, Primary Examiner.

E. F. DESMOND, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. Cl. XR. 53-374; 93-53 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE 0FCORRECTION Patent No. 3,420,036 January 7 1969 Edmund C. Hutchison,deceased, by Elizabeth B. Hutchison, executrix It is certified thaterror appears in the above identified patent and that said LettersPatent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 5, line 14, cancel "details", second occurrence; line 22, "or"should read of line 35, cancel "by means of a spring biased cam member98" and insert To permit raising and lowering of the pusher 89 Signedand sealed this l'7th day of March 1970.

(SEAL) Attest:

WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR.

dward M. Fletcher, Jr.

Commissioner of Patents Aitesting Officer

